‘Arise and Shine’
4th January 2009
Isaiah 60; 1 – 6
‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.’
It is sad once again to see the scenes of devastation caused through the conflict between Palestinian and Jew. Once again people are being killed and the scenes of destruction and mayhem are being shown on our TV screens. We wonder whether there will ever be peace in the Middle East. But we keep hoping and praying. However, when we look back in history, scenes of devastation in Palestine are not new.
The context of our reading from Isaiah 60 reveals an earlier scene of devastation. The Jewish people had begun to return from their 70 year long exile in Babylon. The place was Jerusalem in the year 538 BC. The Temple lay in ruins and the walls of the city needed rebuilding. I would like you to imagine a preacher gathering his people in the midst of a ruined city and proclaiming these great words of hope:
‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.’
It was a call to rise up from the darkness and chaos of sin and know the glory of the Lord. It was a call to begin a new life lived for God and not for self. It was the hope of the dawn of a new age of morality that would be attractive and prosperous. It would become such a wonderful new age that the nations around would come and wonder at this new dawn. The nations would bring new wealth to this attractive and prosperous land.
In this season of Epiphany we celebrate the dawning of the light of Christ in the world. Isaiah 60 projects its light filled message into the future as the wise men travel from Persia to see and wonder at the Christ child. The wise men bring of gifts to Jesus to celebrate importance of this new age. The scene in Bethlehem fulfilled the greater meaning of the prophecy:
‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.’
However, there is an important message here for us at the beginning of this New Year when many people are telling us what a dreadful year it will be. In some ways the scene today is like standing among the ruins of Jerusalem. The very thing in which so many people have put their hope is crumbling away.
The economy is in ruins and people are fearful of the future. The morality of our country is in ruins as irresponsibility in relationships is regarded as fashionable and as a recent report reveals, remaining single and living separately is financially advantageous over being married and maintaining a stable family unit. What social madness is this?
Bad language for the sake of it and disrespect for others on TV and Radio is regarded as funny! I could go on with the list that is dragging our society steadily downward. Surely the time has come for change, for the sake of our children, grandchildren and future generations.
So, the prophecy of the Christ light remains very much alive for our age:
‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.’
It is time for Christians to ‘arise and shine’. In other words, we must do two things.
First of all we must
1. Rise up from the darkness!
In 538 BC the exiles had returned after living 70 years in a land with values very different from their own. Many Jews had integrated well into Babylonian Society. Some had risen through the ranks. But there is much evidence to suggest that they had been strongly influenced by immoral values. It was time for them, to arise from the darkness of their sin and begin afresh.
As we begin this New Year it is surely time to reflect on our own values and test them against the scriptures. Of course we all have our shortfalls but we may have lapses in morality that we don’t notice – things we just accept as normal in this age. We are all affected by what goes on around us.
It is time for us to be aware of our own darkness and repent. Then we may arise afresh and put the past behind us. New Year resolutions must include some repentance.
Secondly, we must
2. Shine in the darkness
The returning exiles in 538 BC were being encouraged to shine as a nation and be an example to the nations around. They were encouraged to live according to God’s laws and their prosperity will attract other nations to trade with them and share in their prosperity. What is more, their faith as a foundation would also be attractive to the nations. As it says in our reading from Isaiah, ‘Nations shall come to your light.’
Many people over many centuries have found faith in Jesus Christ and their lives have changed beyond all recognition. Our prayer is that our faith shines and is attractive to others. People may say: ‘you always seem so contented with life.’ ‘What is it that makes you tick?’ Now there’s an invitation for us to talk about our faith. Then we can say the words Jesus used, ‘Come and see.’
The prophetic leader in Jerusalem said:
‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.’
So, my friends, let’s ‘arise and shine’ at the beginning of this New Year and resolve to live our lives for the Glory of the Lord.
Yes, there is gloomy news. But the Good News is that our faith is filled with light.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year!
